If you are considering relocating, you might want to make contacts with and send your résumé to employers in one of the best job markets in the United States. Concurrently, you might want to avoid conducting a job search in one of the cities in the worst job markets in the U.S.
The U.S. has seen 394,000 private-sector jobs slip away since mid-2007, equaling a loss of 7,570 jobs each week. The unemployment rate has shot up a full point during the same span — from 4.7 percent at the halfway point of 2007 to 5.7 percent this year. Bizjournals used a nine-part formula to analyze employment trends in the nation’s 100 largest labor markets. The formula was fueled by midyear data complied since 2003 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 100 markets, taken collectively, contained 69 percent of the nation's 116.2 million private-sector jobs as of June 2008. Texas has benefited from the high energy costs, its natural resources and mining industry, and a housing industry unaffected by the mortgage crisis.A bizjournals study in March identified Houston as one of the nation's 10 most-affordable housing markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close behind in 15th and 22nd place, respectively. TOP 10 BEST CITIES FOR FINDING JOBS
1.Houston, TX 2.Austin, TX 3.Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 4.Raleigh, NC 5.Seattle, WA 6.San Antonio, TX 7.Charlotte, NC 8.Oklahoma City, OK 9.Durham, NC 10.Salt Lake City, UT THE TOP 10 WORST CITIES FOR FINDING JOBS
1.Detroit, MI 2.Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 3.Providence, RI 4.Toledo, OH 5.Lansing, MI 6.Dayton, OH 7.Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, CA 8.Cleveland, OH 9.Los Angeles, CA 10.Youngstown, OH EMPLOYMENT PROFILES OF BEST JOB MARKETS: 1.HOUSTON, TX Much of America is trapped in the recessionary doldrums, but Houston enjoys smooth sailing. It has added 48,100 jobs since mid-2007, an average of 925 new positions every week. No market matches that pace; Dallas is the only other place with a year-to-year gain of more than 21,000 jobs.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:2.27 million Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 315,200 jobs Five-year growth rate:16.2% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 48,100 jobs One-year growth rate:2.2%
2.AUSTIN, TX Austin's consistency is its most important quality.Texas' capital ranks among the best markets for five- and one-year rates of job growth (third and fifth place, respectively) and unemployment rate (seventh place). No other metro qualifies for the top seven in all of these key categories.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:618,200 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.2% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 109,700 jobs Five-year growth rate:21.6% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 11,600 jobs One-year growth rate: 1.9% 3.DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX It's a clean sweep for Texas, with Dallas-Fort Worth finishing a close third to Houston and Austin in the overall standings. Big D has been accelerating at a time when much of the nation is downshifting. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is now adding roughly 4,000 jobs each month.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:2.64 million Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.8% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 312,800 jobs Five-year growth rate:13.4% Private-sector trend since mid-2007: Added 47,500 jobs One-year growth rate:1.8%
4.RALEIGH, NC Raleigh is the strongest labor market beyond the Texas line, thanks to its amazing long-term growth rate. The local job base has expanded by 22.1 percent in five years, more than tripling the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent. This moderate-sized metro has gained 78,900 jobs as a result.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:435,500 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:5.0% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 78,900 jobs Five-year growth rate:22.1% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 10,900 jobs One-year growth rate:2.6%
5.SEATTLE, WA Seattle is weathering the recession much better than most places. The typical labor market has lost 400 jobs since the midpoint of 2007, but Seattle has gained 20,500, the best performance by any metro outside of Texas. Seattle's average increase since 2003 has been 3,200 jobs per month.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:1.52 million Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.5% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 193,800 jobs Five-year growth rate:14.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 20,500 jobs One-year growth rate:1.4%
6.SAN ANTONIO, TX San Antonio's key accomplishment has been keeping its unemployment rate steady: 4.5 percent in mid-2007, 4.6 percent in mid-2008. That's especially impressive because the national rate has climbed to 5.7 percent during that same time.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:703,500 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.6% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 89,400 jobs Five-year growth rate:14.6% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 13,200 jobs One-year growth rate:1.9%
7.CHARLOTTE, NC Only five markets have gained at least 14,000 jobs since the summer of 2007. Among them is Charlotte, which has added 14,200 jobs. Its one-year growth rate of 1.9 percent ranks fifth nationally. One potential danger: The local jobless rate has been trending higher in recent months.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:773,300 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:6.3% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 96,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:14.2% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 14,200 jobs One-year growth rate:1.9%
8.OKLAHOMA CITY, OK Just six of America's top 100 markets have reduced their unemployment rates since mid-2007. The biggest improvement belongs to Oklahoma City, where 4.2 percent are jobless, downfrom 4.6 percent a year ago. Oklahoma City's one-year rate of job growth, 2.7 percent, is also the nation's best.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:466,600 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:4.2% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 47,600 jobs Five-year growth rate:11.4% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 12,300 jobs One-year growth rate:2.7%
9.DURHAM, NC Durham may be a step behind neighboring Raleigh, but it easily outperforms most markets. A case in point: Durham's rate of job growth since mid-2007, 2.4 percent, is third-best nationally. Yes, Raleigh happens to be second at 2.6 percent, but both beat the U.S. average, minus-0.3 percent.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:239,200 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:5.1% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 30,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:14.4% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Added 5,700 jobs One-year growth rate:2.4%
10. SALT LAKE CITY, UT Nowhere is unemployment less of a problem than Salt Lake City, where the jobless rate is 3.4 percent. That's roughly two full points below the mid-2008 U.S. average of 5.5 percent. The only problem is that Salt Lake's engine is beginning to sputter, losing 2,500 jobs in the past year.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:544,900 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:3.4% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 78,800 jobs Five-year growth rate:16.9% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 2,500 jobs One-year growth rate:-0.5%
EMPLOYMENT PROFILES OF WORST JOB MARKETS:
1.DETROIT, MI The downward spiral continues in Detroit, once the automobile capital of the world, but now the weakest labor market in America. The Detroit region has lost 125,100 jobs since mid-2003, an average of2,085 per month. And local unemployment, at 9.7 percent, is close to double digits.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:1.73 million Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:9.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 125,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:-6.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 30,800 jobs One-year growth rate:-1.7%
2.BRADENTON-SARASOTA, FL Bradenton-Sarasota enjoyed rapid growth in the first half of this decade. But the recession has hit hard, stripping away 21,700 jobssince mid-2006. No market has suffered a worse rate of decline during that span, with Bradenton-Sarasota losing 7.7 percent of its jobs in just two years.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:258,900 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:6.1% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 17,200 jobs Five-year growth rate:7.1% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 11,400 jobs One-year growth rate:-4.2%
3.PROVIDENCE, RI The past year has been ugly in Providence. Rhode Island's capital region has lost 12,200 jobs, 2.4 percent of its total base. And its jobless rate has skyrocketed from a moderate 4.9 percent a year ago to a queasy 7.3 percent now. That's the worst rise in unemployment in the nation.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:505,100 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:7.3% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 2,600 jobs Five-year growth rate:-0.5% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 12,200 jobs One-year growth rate:-2.4%
4.TOLEDO, OH Toledo's situation is the same as Detroit's, although on a smaller scale. The difficulties affecting domestic automakers have seriously harmed both regions. The result in Toledo's case is an unemployment rate of7.5 percent (sixth-worst in America), and a one-year loss of 4,700 jobs.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:278,400 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:7.5% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 4,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:-1.5% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 4,700 jobs One-year growth rate:-1.7%
5.LANSING, MI Michigan's capital feels the same economic stress as the state's largest city. Lansing's loss of 7,600 jobs since mid-2003 may pale next to Detroit's loss of 125,100, but its problem is equally serious. The unemployment and five-year growth rates in Lansing are among America's 10 worst.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:161,700 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:7.2% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 7,600 jobs Five-year growth rate:-4.5% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 2,100 jobs One-year growth rate:-1.3%
6.DAYTON, OH Six of the 10 coldest labor markets are old industrial cities in Michigan or Ohio. Dayton unhappily fits the bill, experiencing a slow but steady erosion. It has lost jobs each year since 2003, resulting in a half-decade decline of 12,900 positions. Unemployment hovers near 7percent.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:338,800 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:6.9% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 12,900 jobs Five-year growth rate:-3.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 2,900 jobs One-year growth rate:-0.8%
7.OXNARD-THOUSAND OAKS, CA The mortgage bubble has burst in Southern California, and the sprawling suburban market of Oxnard-Thousand Oaks is feeling the aftereffects. Local employment peaked in 2006. The trend since then has been downward -- a two-year loss of 9,600 jobs, 3.7 percent of the area's workforce.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:248,300 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:6.0% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 6,800 jobs Five-year growth rate:2.8% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 7,500 jobs One-year growth rate:-2.9%
8.CLEVELAND, OH Cleveland seemed to get over the hump in 2006, picking up 7,800 jobs in 12 months. But the improvement proved to be brief.Decline has once again become the rule in Cleveland, which has lost 11,200 jobs in the past two years. Its unemployment rate is now among the nation's five worst.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:935,400 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:7.7% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 6,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:-0.6% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 6,900 jobs One-year growth rate:-0.7%
9.LOS ANGELES, CA The Los Angeles area sailed along from 2003 to 2007, picking up an annual average of 59,000 jobs.Then it hit the reverse thrusters, losing58,900 in a single year. The unemployment rate has soared almost two full points since mid-2007, one of the 10 sharpest rises in the nation.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:4.84 million Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:6.6% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Added 178,000 jobs Five-year growth rate:3.8% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 58,900 jobs One-year growth rate:-1.2%
10.YOUNGSTOWN, OH Job losses are an unhappy fact of life in Youngstown. Consider the recent pattern: 2,200 jobs slipped away between the summers of 2005 and 2006, followed by 2,300 in '06-07, and 900 in the most recent year. Youngstown ranks in the bottom 10 for unemployment and five-year job growth.
Quick Stats Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008:211,100 Unemployment rate as of mid-2008:7.3% Private-sector trend since mid-2003:Lost 3,100 jobs Five-year growth rate:-1.4% Private-sector trend since mid-2007:Lost 900 jobs One-year growth rate:-0.4%
211,100
